The Mystery Unfolds
by CII
Summary: Kiryuu gets trapped in a dream and faces down probably the most powerful opponent he has ever faced before.  And Telek 'Heros gives a eulogy to Lord Hood.


**The Mystery Unfolds**

As always, the dream started out with darkness. He could not help but to allow his processors to rest after the memorial and he still wanted to know what it was he saw when King Ghidorah tried to take control of him through the blue-glowing Technomantic cords. Kiryuu wanted to rest his eyes the night before the funeral. He, Malcho, and Telek were all staying in different rooms at a hotel for the funeral in Washington D.C. It was a request to give Lord Hood his full honors by burying him in Arlington Cemetery along with past heroes who served North America and the UCAS well. It was requested that no cameras would be held at the ceremony so not to disturb the mourning family.

Kiryuu tried to keep his thoughts on the funeral, what he may say there. So, he kept his eyes closed and thought of them. But he could not. Another thought kept intruding into his mind while he attempted to rest. This thought above all others held to him. Memories flashed back to the battle between himself and the possessed Saren. Kiryuu, as he attached his blue, glowing cords to attempted to banish King Ghidorah's hold upon the undead body of Saren. But King Ghidorah fought back. However, he could not fight back long. There was a feedback and it fried King Ghidorah. Kiryuu saw it for split second, but it was as if the Array was rejecting King Ghidorah, like an organism rejecting a foreign object. It was violent. Kiryuu had always thought of the Array as some sort of vast dimensional computer and database, far more advanced than even his own systems could comprehend. Never in his existence had he calculated that the Array was an actual living being! There was no anti-virus protocol that the Array used to banish King Ghidorah's intrusion methods, it was the Array itself expelling him out.

Kiryuu opened his eyes and took in a deep breath. He could not wait for the Array to just allow him access when ever it needed him to see a piece of the puzzle, he wanted to get the answers himself. Reaching behind his green dreads, he pulled out the cyan and blue, glowing, energy streams from the base of his head. Upon his slate gray cheeks, a pair of three black, triangular markings appeared. The world seemed to shatter into darkness as he allowed his processors access to the enormous database that had been in existence since the first star began to shine. All the knowledge of the universe, collected and stored automatically within this massive database as life entwined with death.

He expected an influx of information immediately after he called upon the Array, however, this flow did not occur. There was nothing but darkness and Kiryuu stood there in the middle of it. He hated being trapped in darkness. It brought back those horrible memories of himself being trapped in his own CPU after the EMP struck him so many years ago. It was here he had to face his true self, the real Gojira whom his body was built over. He knelt down to the ground and sighed, waiting for anything to happen. He closed his eyes again, hoping that he could take his mind off of the darkness.

A light appeared before him and Kiryuu raised his head. As the light grew closer, he saw at the center the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She floated gracefully towards him. He noticed how she was dressed. She dressed similar to how the Forerunners and the Precursors dressed, with the layered kimono and over coat. Her hair was long and tied at the back in twin tails, but it was short up in front, only reaching just below her shoulders. Kiryuu could best describe this style as the _hime_ haircut. Her hair was black as night, and her skin was tan. However, her robes were pale in color. Upon her cheeks were the same black, triangular stripes he had, but instead of three, there were five. Kiryuu did not recall a Technomancer ever having five before. He remembered that Malcho told him the most powerful of Technomancers could only gain three and no more. As she drew close to him, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him softly on the lips. Kiryuu could not help but to melt into that kiss.

Suddenly, the scene changed and Kiryuu fell upon the ground. He opened his eyes again to find himself standing upon a burnt, red desert with a dark, rusty sky above. The beautiful woman was gone. Kiryuu rose up from the sand and dusted himself off. He took a look around. There appeared to be nothing for miles, just an endless, flat desert. There was no wind, no sign of movement in the sand, nothing. It was chillingly quiet. He gauged the temperature, but found nothing. It was neither hot, nor cold, it was just nothing. There was no temperature. There were no clouds in the sky, no stars, no sun, no moon.

Nothing.

Just a desert.

Kiryuu could not decide which was worse, a desert of nothing or a dark void of nothing. Then, he heard a sound coming from behind him. The sound was metal upon metal, as if something was being unsheathed. Kiryuu spun around to find a dark night with the most frightening armor he had ever seen pull a long sword from his back. The knight's face was obscured by a large helm in the shape of a dragon. All Kiryuu could see were a pair of glowing golden eyes inside the helm. The sword ignited it a glow of cyan and the knight gripped it tightly with both of his hands, pointing the sharp tip at Kiryuu.

"I do not want to fight you," said Kiryuu, raising his claws up.

The knight said nothing and raised his sword, ready to strike. As he swung the sword, Kiryuu leapt swiftly out of the way. Then, the knight swung again, but his blade struck something glowing cyan and blue as well. Kiryuu held his hand up as if he was holding a sword, but shooting out of his fist was a controlled beam of cyan and blue energy in the form of a blade. Kiryuu kicked the knight off of him, but the knight did not falter. The two began their fight, both swinging at each other, their swords clashing. The sound of blade meeting blade echoed through the desert. Kiryuu continued his blocks, trying to emphasize that he was not going to harm the knight. However, the knight's movements were much too swift, even for him.

Knight versus knight.

A final swing was made and Kiryuu blocked it. The force was enough to repel him backwards, giving the knight a chance to stab the biomecha in the shoulder. Kiryuu bellowed out in pain, gripping his shoulder. He swung his own sword at the knight, only to knock the helm off. His eyes widened when he saw who it was behind the helm. It was the woman who kissed him earlier. Kiryuu stepped back in astonishment.

"Who are you, why are you doing this?" he asked. "Why did you attack me?"

She made no reply to him. Rising up, she dropped her sword and began to step back from him. As she did so, her body grew to enormous size. Her form twisted and extended out. Black, bat-wings spread wide and a tail tipped with a poisoned barb appeared from her hip. Her head extended from its neck, becoming draconic. Then, four other heads detached themselves from the main one, each one holding a color of its own. The woman who he had kissed and the knight he fought had turned into an enormous five-headed dragon. The center head was red while the four others were blue, green, black, and white. The colors of the heads came down like stripes on the back to blend in blue, bronze, and green at the tail. The only dragon Kiryuu had faced that had multiple heads was King Ghidorah, but this was not King Ghidorah.

"Oh my God," Kiryuu said, slowly backing away from the massive dragon.

The dragon laughed at his statement.

"_**You have no idea..."**_

Kiryuu nearly jumped at the sound of her voice inside his head.

The dragon bellowed and swung her right claw at Kiryuu. The biomecha leapt out of the way as her claw came just inches close to him. He looked up to see all five heads opening their mouths. Fire came from the red head, lighting raced out from the blue head, corrosive, poisonous gas spewed from the green head, acid splashed out from the black head, and frost gushed forth from the white head. Kiryuu called upon his shield and braced himself for the impact. All five breath weapons from the dragon broke the shield and sent him flying back. He skit across the sand, rolling and tumbling. When he finally tumbled to a stop, Kiryuu held his wounds tightly, moaning in agony. He tried to rise to his shaking feet, looking up at the dragon, who swiftly flew across the dark red sky. She landed onto the sand and swatted her tail at him just before he could even think to make a move against it. Kiryuu was once more propelled across the desert, landing and rolling painfully on the ground. He unfolded, spread-eagled on the sand, looking up wearily at the sky. He saw the central head peer down upon him, smoke flowing out of its nostrils.

"What did I do to you?" Kiryuu asked in an agonized, hushed voice.

The five-headed dragon snarled at him and her claw rose up to smash him. Kiryuu tried to must up his speed and in a blur, he dodged the claw. He got to his feet and ignited the sword from his claw. The dragon only chuckled and snapped her fingers. Kiryuu watched as the sword disappeared in a fizzle and his Technomantic cords disappeared.

"_**Got a hint yet?"**_

Kiryuu once more called upon his speed just as he saw the lightning from the blue head bolt towards him. He leapt into the air towards the dragon, his biosyntech blades out like the many legs of a spider. The dragon merely flicked him away. When he finally rose again, he tried to call upon his Technomantic powers, but they did not come. He was not sure how it was possible, but this dragon was blocking them. He turned around to find the dragon advancing upon him again. Kiryuu sighed and began to run. There was no beating this dragon. He paused just for a moment and ignited his back spines. His mouth opened wide and he unleashed his plasma upon the dragon, hoping that it would be enough to stall her. The dragon held up her claw and allowed the purple-white beam of hot gas to impact her palm. Kiryuu ceased the blast and stood there, seeing that his plasma left no burnt mark on her palm. She could not be harmed, she was faster than him, and she could control his Technomancy. He never knew that such a thing was possible.

Kiryuu knelt down onto the sand and lowered his head in defeat. There was no going against the dragon. Even King Ghidorah could be harmed, but this dragon, she could not. His metallic claws gripped the sand and balled up as he shut his eyes tightly, waiting for the dragon to blast him again.

"What do you want from me?" he asked in a whisper. "Why are you doing this?"

He waited for the final blow, but it never came. Something reached out and touched his cheek, raising his head up. When Kiryuu opened his eyes, he found a Precursor with white skin standing in front of the enormous five-headed dragon. This Precursor was dressed in the same clothing as the woman he saw earlier. A halo shined behind her.

"Who are you?" Kiryuu asked, realizing that the five-headed dragon, and this Precursor was still the same being.

The Precursor reached from behind Kiryuu's neck and pulled out the cyan-blue, glowing cords. As the cords flowed out, Kiryuu looked down to see for the first time, they had an end. He looked up to find the Precursor gone. The ending of the glowing streams connected to the back of the five-headed dragon. The dragon lowered her claw to him. As Kiryuu reached out to touch the claw, he began to realize just who it was he was in the presence of. He took in a deep breath and prepared his question as he normally did when being connected to the Array.

"Why is King Ghidorah here?" he asked.

"_**Sometimes, shit happens."**_

"Shit happens?" Kiryuu asked. "What kind of answer is that?"

"_**Shit happens."**_

With that, Kiryuu was returned to his hotel room. The desert faded away to reveal his bed, the nightstand, the lamp, and his clothes all hung up in the closet.

"The Array is a living being," he said. "A being that exists far beyond even my comprehension. And sometimes, shit happens."

He had to admit, that was not the answer he was looking for.

0

They stood quietly as the naval officer presented Admiral Telek 'Heros the folded UNSC flag from Lord Hood's casket. The officer saluted Telek slowly, who then returned the gesture. Telek then turned to Lord Hood's family and presented them with the flag and saluted them. He then took the pedestal and prepared his speech to an audience of teary eyes. Kiryuu held his head low. Malcho listened intently.

"I can remember the first day I became a part of the United Nations Space Command," Telek began. "Men like Terrance Hood took this old Covenant defector in and gave him allies where he had none. Terrance knew I hated fighting a war I felt was wrong...at least when I was on the Covenant side. Because of that, he found a powerful ally. Without Terrance, I probably wouldn't have made it this far in the war. He didn't die going down fighting some Jiralhanae, but he did die fighting something he knew was wrong as well. I cannot ask any other man to do anything different for I too was willing to fight against something I knew was wrong. He led us all against an evil dictator and a genocidal maniac, and with his help, we all came out victorious. He will be remembered among my Sangheili in battle poems as one of the greatest warriors I've ever known. We Sangheili believe that if a warrior dies in battle, he dies with full honor and the gods will smile upon him, and Terrance did just that. He was the best of us all. There is something that is traditional to say among my people at a funeral when someone ends a eulogy to a great warrior or warriors. _Hu'ataa n'yn griut._ Hail the victorious dead."

With that, he left and sat back down beside Kiryuu and Malcho. A volley of gunfire sounded afterwards and they began to lower the casket. Kiryuu sighed and shook his head. Telek had to agree with the gesture. He was saddened how Terrance Hood died, but he hated the most how he died. Kiryuu could sense that Telek wanted to take revenge for such a dishonor upon a great man by driving his sword into the face of the Illusive Man. When the funeral was finally over, they all filed out respectfully, saying one final kind word to the family before leaving the cemetery. Malcho looked up at the sky, seeing the sun set over the horizon. A dark shadow flowed over them signifying the _Silent Wrath's _respectful vigil over the proceeding. Telek ordered the ship to hover above the city of Washington D.C. while his personal starfighters circled the cemetery. Telek looked back at Kiryuu, noticing that he was in deep thought.

"I'm gonna find those Cerberus bastards," he said. "And when I do, they better be beggin' me not to glass their station."

"I don't want you to get into too much trouble if you do," said Kiryuu. "But I wouldn't hold it against you if you did go out there and find the whereabouts of the Illusive Man, Telek. Just try to keep it as discrete as you can."

"I know someone who can do that," said Telek. "After all, he's a part of my fleet, right?"

"That would be something I would send him out to do," said Kiryuu. "It is best to have a small ship like his take on the job rather than your ship."

"Is there something the matter, Kiryuu?" asked Malcho. "Your mind has not been on the funeral."

"Remember what I said about that feedback I got for trying to force a connection on King Ghidorah?" asked Kiryuu.

"Yes, you said something pushed both of you back," said Malcho.

"I think I met that something," said Kiryuu. "It was the Array itself. Or I think it was. Something happened last night before the funeral. I went looking for whatever that was and I found it. Though, I'm having a hard time remembering it, but I do remember battling with it. That thing, whatever it was, gave me a fight of my life. But it seems it was only testing me. I don't know if I passed the test. But I was allowed one question. I asked why King Ghidorah was here. The Array replied: 'shit happens.'"

"You've got to be joking," said Telek. "I thought that thing was just some giant database."

"I did too," said Kiryuu. "I do know this, it is a living being. And we're connected to it."

"You know, there was an old saying Nercine told me once when I first Connected," said Malcho. "Connecting to the Array is like taking a peak at God's mind. You cannot quite comprehend everything you just learned, but you understand enough to use it. But the answers are never given to you completely. If it was, then you would never be able to figure the puzzle out yourself, and you would grow weak from it. For it is the adventure of the puzzle that strengthens us, not the answer."

"I don't think I understand enough to figure this puzzle out," said Kiryuu. "But I will say this, I honestly thought I really did take a clear look at God." He sighed. "As ridiculous as that sounds."

"It does sound like bullshit," said Telek. "But what the hell do I know, I'm not a Technomancer. Y'all'er freaky bunch, that's certain."

"What does it mean, Malcho?" Kiryuu asked. "When the Array said shit happens."

Malcho chuckled: "Exactly what it means, amigo. Sometimes, shit happens. I suppose that even includes King Ghidorah. And it's up to us to clean it up."

"That's for damned certain," said Telek. "And it's a stinky mess as well. Maybe one of you can finally ask the Array who shat the shit in the first place? It'll help clear some things up about King Ghidorah, Gravemind, the Reapers, and everything else that Far Realm place wants to spit at us."

"That would be something we can look into," said Malcho.

"But not now," said Kiryuu, lowering his head in sadness. "Not now."

"Sí," said Malcho. "I know how you feel, amigo. I'll miss him too."

"Same here," said Telek.


End file.
